It is a problem to distribute command and control signals to power-consuming accessories, which are operationally associated with a weapon and attached to the weapon's Powered Rail, that electrically connects the power-consuming accessories to a centrally located power source. A weapon used in military applications may have a plurality of accessories that can be attached to the weapon, with each accessory having a need for electric power. In order to reduce the weight of these power-consuming accessories, as well as the proliferation of batteries used to power these power-consuming accessories, a common power source is used to power whatever power-consuming accessory is attached to the weapon. A Powered Rail provides a point of mechanical and electrical interconnection for the power-consuming accessories to provide quick connect mounting and dismounting of the power-consuming accessory, absent the use of connectors with their tethering cables, which are susceptible to entanglement.
However, a Powered Rail by itself fails to provide a user with control over the operation of the power-consuming accessories, since it simply provides an electrical connection to the power source and must rely on a power switch mounted on each power-consuming accessory to enable the user to apply power in a binary, on/off manner to that power-consuming accessory. The need to operate such a switch on a power-consuming accessory is inconvenient and prevents the user from having the ability to rapidly power-up and power-down the power-consuming accessory. In the case of a plurality of power-consuming accessories being mounted on the weapon, such a power control method is cumbersome at best.
In addition to providing an accessory on/off function, there is a need to support control signal distribution from a centrally located control apparatus to the accessories as well as intra-accessory communications absent the presence of a centrally located control apparatus. With a limited amount of power available from the power source and the ability of the user to connect and disconnect accessories to the Powered Rail, any communications and control distribution system must be simple, efficient, and adaptable to account for new types of accessories being developed and deployed on the weapon.